I received benefits in 2018 and 8 months later i traveled out of country for over a year and cancelled my b insurance. According to Social Security, i can cancel my insurance but "may" pay a penalty. But when i go to re-enroll when i got back to USA, they told me i would have to wait until Jan-march to enroll and the insurance would not be available until July and i would pay 10% on the months i was not covered which would be more than i can afford. I feel like they are punishing me when insurance is not mandated in Ohio.

Hi. Medicare is a federal program, so the enrollment rules are the same regardless of what state a person lives in. It sounds like what you were told is probably correct. If you cancel Part B coverage for any reason, you can only re-enroll during specified enrollment periods.

If you're more than 3 months past the month that you reached age 65 then your initial enrollment period is no longer available. And, unless you were covered by an employer group health plan during the time you didn't have Part B coverage, you wouldn't be eligible for a special enrollment period (https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Eligibility-and-Enrollment/OrigMedicarePart...). That leaves only general enrollment periods (GEP) as an option for re-enrollment in Part B of Medicare.

GEPs occur annually from January through March. If you apply for Part B during a GEP, your coverage starts July 1st of the year in which you enrolled. And, a 10% premium surcharge is applied for each 12 month period that you were eligible for Part B but chose not to be covered.

Best, Jerry